EDITORIAL: The longer shutdown is, the worse it'll be

The government has been partially closed for eight days, disrupting business and diminishing the country.

Government by crisis has become the new norm in Washington. Fiscal cliff, sequester, debt ceiling and shutdown - these are the new "landmarks" of legislation now shaping our nation.

We deserve better.

Let's speak up and demand that our elected representatives pass a straight bill to fund the government and then pass another one to raise the debt limit.

With that basic business accomplished, we should then demand a serious negotiation between the president and the Republicans that results in a long-term, stable budget solution.

The government has been partially closed for eight days, laying off thousands, disrupting business and diminishing the country in the eyes of the world.

The longer the government is closed, the worse the impact will be on average Americans and the economy.

In the midst of the shutdown, the next crisis is already here.

Congress faces an Oct. 17 deadline to raise the federal debt limit or risk a default on U.S. government debt.

The shutdown will be a minor nuisance compared with defaulting on the nation's debt.

That could have serious implications for the economy, the markets and for the slow but steady recovery.

Raising the debt limit is not a bargaining chip. The country has already racked up the debt, and it needs to be paid. Not doing so would be like ringing up thousands of dollars on a credit card and then refusing to pay it. That will ruin your credit rating.

Reopening the government is not a bargaining chip. We are beginning to see all the ways a functioning government affects our lives. One of the largest employers in Covington, the Internal Revenue Service, is shut down, affecting many of the surrounding businesses that rely on its 3,000 workers, says Northern Kentucky Chamber President Steve Stevens. Home sales are being held up just as the market is returning because some required documents are not being processed.

Obamacare is not a bargaining chip. The health care law was passed more than three years ago. It has a long timetable for full implementation, but it has already started. It was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court and has withstood more than 40 votes by the U.S. House to gut it. It is the law of the land and if the Congress wants to change it, its members can do that. But do it the right way, by amending the legislation, not by holding the country hostage.

This is a crisis of leadership for House Speaker John Boehner, just the latest for the West Chester Republican.

Boehner should allow the House to vote on a so-called clean continuing resolution to fund the government, a bill unencumbered by Obamacare or other bargaining chips. He says the votes aren't there to pass it, but independent analyses say the votes are there. Let's see who's right.

Moderate Republicans say this is a dangerous game that's being played. Now it's time to act responsibly. Boehner, even at the risk of his speakership, could restore sanity.

Continuing down this path spells trouble for the Republican Party. Voters overwhelmingly oppose Congress shutting down the government as a way to stop the health care law, a new poll shows. A huge majority of registered voters - 72 percent - oppose shutting down the government to stop the health care law, found the Quinnipiac University poll.

Only 17 percent of voters approve of the way Republicans in Congress are handling their jobs. Seventy-four percent disapprove. Although it's a long way off, those numbers don't foreshadow a good election for the GOP in 2014.

With these crises resolved, Republicans can get on with a serious negotiation with the president and his party, a negotiation in which everything should be on the table. ■

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EDITORIAL: The longer shutdown is, the worse it'll be

Government by crisis has become the new norm in Washington. Fiscal cliff, sequester, debt ceiling and shutdown ? these are the new 'landmarks' of legislation now shaping our nation.